Hubert-Erwin Meierdress

Hubert-Erwin Meierdress (11 December 1916 – 1945), usually referred to as Erwin Meierdress, was a German Waffen-SS officer and panzer ace who served with the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler", SS-Verfügungs-Division before joining the SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf", which he served with until his death in January 1945.

Early Life - Hitlerjugend - SS

Meierdress was born in Wesel in Rhenish Prussia into a middle class family. His father was a Customs Tariff Secretary. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Meierdress was still in school. He joined the Hitlerjugend when all Scout organisations were dissolved and replaced by the Nazi-run organisation. As soon as he was old enough, Meierdress applied for NSDAP membership, which he was granted on 4 April 1934 (Nr.3 601 911). Soon after, he applied to join the SS, to which he was admitted on 1 August 1934 (Nr.265 243). He was posted to the Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler", the SS' élite guard formation, serving as an enlisted man.

In April 1938, Meierdress was given the opportunity to attend the SS-Junkerschule (the SS officer training school) at Braunschweig. He performed well during the intensive study and training, showing particular interest in the artillery and panzer parts of the course. On 20 April 1939, he graduated as an SS-Untersturmführer specialising in artillery. On 1 May 1939, he was posted to command of a platoon in the 13th (Infantry Gun) company of the newly formed SS-Standarte "Der Führer".

In mid 1939, Adolf Hitler authorised the formation of an SS-Verfügungs-Division, comprising all three SS-VT Standartes, SS-Standarte "Deutschland", SS-Standarte "Germania" and SS-Standarte "Der Fuhrer" (The Leibstandarte was to form its own unit). Meierdress was assigned to command of an artillery battery SS-Verfügungs-Artillerie-Regiment under SS-Sturmbannführer Herbert Otto Gille. The Polish Crisis of August 1939 put these plans on hold, and the SS-Standarten were deployed for action during the upcoming offensive, Fall Weiss. The SS-Verfügungs-Artillerie-Regiment was subordinated to Panzer-Division "Kempf", based in East Prussia.

Early War Campaigns - Totenkopf

On 1 September 1939, the Invasion of Poland began, sparking the Second World War. Meierdress fought with the Panzer-Division "Kempf" through the campaign, seeing heavy action in the initial battles for the Mlava Position. At the conclusion of the campaign, Panzer-Division "Kempf" was disbanded, and the SS-VT formations began forming into the SS-Verfügungs-Division, to be commanded by SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser. For personal bravery in combat during the Polish campaign, Meierdress was awarded the Iron Cross second class.

On 20 October 1939, Meierdress was transferred to the staff of I./SS-"Totenkopf"-Artillerie-Regiment, part of the now forming SS-Division "Totenkopf" commanded by SS-Gruppenführer Theodor Eicke. Meierdress served with the "Totenkopf" during the Invasion of France. As a member of the artillery regiment's staff, Meierdress did not see any frontline combat during the invasion, but did gain valuable experience in the running of an artillery battalion. On 12 June 1940, Meierdress secured a combat command. He was placed in charge of a platoon of StuG IIIs in the artillery regiment's assault gun unit, SS-Sturmgeschütze-Batterie "Totenkopf". He saw a little action during the mopping up of the last French forces. On 9 November 1940, Meierdress was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer.

Barbarossa - Demjansk "Kessel"

The "Totenkopf" was assigned to Army Group North for Operation Barbarossa, the plan for the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 22 June 1941, Barbarossa began and the "Totenkopf" began its advance. Initially, Army Group North did not assign the "Totenkopf" any real frontline combat, but it was soon thrown into action. Meierdress, as a StuG platoon commander, led his assault guns aggressively and was soon building a reputation as a highly skilled armour commander. Meierdress' unit saw heavy action during the assault towards Leningrad, the objective of Army Group North. By December 1941, the Germans had breached the Stalin Line and were at the gates of Leningrad.

Several strong Soviet assaults launched at the height of winter caught the exhausted Germans offguard. The "Totenkopf" managed to hold its section of the line near Demjansk in ferocious fighting. By early January 1942 "Totenkopf's" position was located in a salient which protruded into the Soviet lines. The Soviets, hoping to sever the German supply lines and encircle the forces around Demjansk, launched ferocious attacks at the flanks of the salient. During this period, Meierdress and the remnants of the StuG Battery performed fire-brigade missions, halting all Soviet attempts.

On 15 January, 1942, the Soviets launched a major attack which threatened to sever the main highway at the town of Bjakowo. Meierdress, seeing the threat, formed an ad-hoc Kampfgruppe from his StuG battery (down to less than 100 men) and assorted engineers, SS-police troopers and Artillery reconnaissance troops which were located in and around the town. With his kampfgruppe, Meierdress held the town against repeated assaults by much larger forces.

Heavy Soviet attacks further to the south, launched on 8 February, sliced through the flanks of the Demjansk salient, trapping "Totenkopf" and five other divisions, over 100,000 men, in a "kessel".

The "Totenkopf", exhausted from the winter fighting, was severely understrength. Meierdress' kampfgruppe, down to only 30 men, continued to hold the line at Bjakowo, now the closest point to friendly lines. For his actions during these battles, Meierdress was awarded the Iron Cross, first class.

In early February, the Soviets captured Bjakowo, cutting off the Totenkopf, including Meierdress' force from the main German force, II.Armeekorps, encircled around Demyansk itself.

On February 18, Meierdress was seriously wounded. After Meierdress' incapacitation, "Totenkopf's" SS-Sturmbannführer Franz Kleffner took over the command at Bjakowo. On February 19, he led the survivors in an assault which resulted in a breakthrough to the main force, an action for which Kleffner won the Knight's Cross. On 21 February, Meierdress was flown out of the pocket in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.

Severely wounded, Meierdress was sent back to an SS Field Hospital, where it was feared that he would die. By early March, his condition had stabilised. On 13 March, 1942, Meierdress was awarded the Knight's Cross in recognition of his courage and resourcefulness while encircled near Bjakowa. The SS newspaper, "Das Schwarze Korps" published a story on his actions.

Recuperation - Transfer to the Panzerwaffe

In late March, Meierdress was discharged from the hospital, but was deemed unfit to rejoin the division, which was still heavily engaged in the Demjansk Pocket. Instead, he was posted to the Waffen-SS artillery replacement regiment, SS-Artillerie-Ersatz-Regiment. On 20 April, he was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer. Meierdress remained with the regiment, training replacements in the use of StuGs. He showed a skill and enthusiasm for training the young artillerists.

Due to Wehrmacht internal power struggles in the 1930s, although StuGs were armoured fighting vehicles, they came under the command of the artillery, with the remainder of the panzers being controlled by the Panzerwaffe. In October 1942, the "Totenkopf" was pulled out of the line and moved to France to be reformed as a panzergrenadier division. Meierdress, having shown skill in the command of StuGs, was given the opportunity to take the Panzer commander's course at Panzertruppenschule II at Wünsdorf. He accepted the offer and on 14 November, he graduated and was posted back to now reformed SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Totenkopf" as commander of I. Abteilung of SS-Panzer-Regiment 3.

With help from Heinrich Himmler and Paul Hausser, all SS Panzergrenadier Divisions were to receive a full panzer regiment, rather than the usual abteilung. This meant that SS Panzergrenadier Divisions were Panzer divisions in all but name. In December 1942, the situation in Stalingrad meant that the division was needed in the east. It was entrained and sent to the region around Kharkov, where it would form a part of SS-Obergruppenführer Hausser's SS-Panzerkorps.

Battles for Kharkov

The division arrived at the front in late February 1943, and, together with the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" and SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich" was thrown into action in Generaloberst Erich von Manstein's counter offensive to retake Kharkov. In January and February, the "Das Reich" and "Leibstandarte" had seen heavy fighting in defence of the city, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking Soviets. Despite the best efforts of the SS-Panzerkorps, the Soviets were still advancing on the SS-Panzerkorps' flanks. Fearing encirclement, Hausser disobeyed Hitler's orders and authorised a full withdrawal from Kharkov.

The "Totenkopf" arrived in time to take part in the counteroffensive. The Soviet spearhead was formed by Mobile Group Popov. The SS-Panzerkorps was divided into a number of smaller Kampfgruppes, and Meierdress' Abt formed the nucleus of one of the "Totenkopf's" kampfgruppes, providing flank defence to the main assault by elements of the "Leibstandarte". During the battle, the "Totenkopf's" commander, Theodor Eicke was shot down and killed while performing battlefield reconnaissance. In the desperate fighting to retake the city, Meierdress performed well, his unit inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, and playing a major role in the annihilation of Mobile Group Popov, taking part in the recapture of Belgorod.

After the victory at the Third Battle of Kharkov, the SS-Panzekorps was rested and refitted in preparation for the major offensive against the Kursk salient, Operation Citadel.

Citadel

The attack was launched on 4 July 1943, after a massive Soviet artillery barrage fell on the German assembly areas. The SS-Panzerkorps was to attack the southern flank of the salient as the spearhead for Generaloberst Hermann Hoth's 4.Panzer-Armee.

The "Totenkopf" led the advance on the SS-Panzerkops western flank, Meierdress' Abt, together with II./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 under SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Biermeier, advanced in a panzerkiel across the hot and dusty steppe. Despite encountering stiff Soviet resistance and several pakfronts, the "Totenkopf's" panzers continued to advance, albeit at a slower pace than had been planned. Hausser ordered his SS-Panzerkorps to split in two, with the "Totenkopf" crossing the Psel river northwards and then continuing on towards the town of Prokhorovka.

By July 10, the "Totenkopf" was in a position to cross the Psel in force, the all three SS Panzergrenadier Divisions could then strike towards Prokhorovka. Elements of the "Totenkopf's" SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 "Theodor Eicke" had finally forced a crossing of the Psel and established a weak bridgehead.

By July 11, Meierdress had led his Abt across the Psel on hastily constructed pontoon bridges, reinforcing the tenuous position. The forces in the bridgehead were subjected to several furious Soviet attacks, but with the support of Meierdress' panzers they held their ground and resumed the division's advance northwards. In the afternoon of 12 July, near the village of Andre'evka on the south bank of the Psel, the Soviets launched a major counterattack against the "Totenkopf's" SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 5 "Thule" and the division's StuG Battalion.

SS-Brigadeführer Hermann Priess, the "Totenkopf's " commander, ordered Meierdress' abteilung to advance and support the beleaguered forces. The PzKpfw IIIs and PzKpfw IVs of Meierdress' unit were supported by the "Totenkopf's" Tiger I company, 9(schwere)./SS-Panzer-Regiment 3. In ferocious combat with the lead units of the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army, Meierdress managed to halt the Soviet assault, destroying many Soviet T-34s, but at the cost of the majority of his remaining operational panzers.

On 14 July, Hitler called off the operation.

Battles on the Mius Front

On 22 July, the "Totenkopf" was entrained for the Mius sector, where Generaloberst Holldit's reformed 6.Armee was under heavy Soviet attack and close to collapse. The "Leibstandarte", which was heading to the Italian front, left its vehicles behind. These were used to partially refit both the "Totenkopf" and the "Das Reich".

Upon arrival at the Mius-Front, "Totenkopf" and "Das Reich" were immediately thrown into action. In the rocky ravine-crossed terrain, Meierdress led the understrength SS-Panzer-Abt in several ferocious counterattacks which prevented several breakthroughs. By late June, "Totenkopf" and "Das Reich" had succeeded in stabilising the front to some extent.

The launch of the Soviet Operation Rumyantsev on the southern flank of the Kursk salient meant that the "Totenkopf" and "Das Reich" were sent back north to deal with the threat to Kharkov. Meierdress' now exhausted abt was ordered into the line near Belgorod, where it was engaged in a ferocious defensive battle in an attempt to stem the tide. The divisions halted the advance of Rumyantsev, and it seemed as if the line would be stabilised. However, strong Soviet forces soon outflanked the two divisions and forced them to fall back to Kharkov. The threat to the divisions' flanks was too great, and on 23 August the "Totenkopf" and "Das Reich" abandoned the city, narrowly avoiding encirclement. Despite the best efforts of the two SS-Panzergrenadier divisions, on 23 August Kharkov had fallen. Army Group South began a fighting withdrawal to the Dnieper.

Meierdress continued to lead the abteilung in constant fire-brigade actions, preventing breakthroughs and flanking maneuvers as the slower formations of the "Totenkopf" fell back. By early September, the "totenkopf" reached the Dniepr. Elements of the Soviet 5th Guards Tank army had forced a crossing at Kremenchug and were soon threatening to break through the Dniepr line. "Totenkopf" was thrown into action against the bridgehead, with the panzer regiment leading many attacks. In late September, Meierdress was seriously wounded in combat against the bridgehead. He was evacuated to an SS-Field Hospital where he recuperated. As this was his fifth serious wound, he was awarded the wound badge in gold. In recognition of his actions in Kharkov, Kursk, the Mius and the retreat to the Dnieper, Meierdress was awarded the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross. These were personally awarded to him by Adolf Hitler on 5 October, 1943.

Retreat to Romania

After his recovery, Meierdress was posted to the SS-Panzer-Ausbildungs-und-Ersatz-Regiment, helping train new panzertroops who would be dispersed as replacements to the SS panzer divisions. In January 1944, he was deemed ready for active service and was sent back to his old command with the "Totenkopf", arriving on 20 January. On 30 January, he received a promotion to SS-Sturmbannführer.

The "Totenkopf" was engaged in heavy defensive fighting east of the Dnieper near Krivoi-Rog. The Soviets had been attempting to capture Krivoi-Rog, which formed a linchpin in the German lines, since November 1943. Meierdress assumed control of his old abteilung, and immediately led them into battle against Soviet probing attempts towards the city. In February 1944, 56,000 German troops were trapped in the Korsun Pocket. The "Totenkopf" was sent towards Cherkassy to assist in the relief attempts. Meierdress led his panzer troops in attacks towards the city of Korsun, attempting to secure a crossing across the Gniloy-Tilkich river. The 1.Panzer-Division, fighting alongside the "Totenkopf", achieved a linkup with the encircled forces.

After a fierce fight near Kirovograd the "Totenkopf" fell back behind the Bug River, in the second week of March, taking up new defensive positions. During this period, Meierdress performed his usual task of fire-brigade commander, dealing with threats as they arose. After two weeks of heavy fighting alongside the Heer's Panzergrenadier-Division "Großdeutschland" west of Ivanovka, the German lines again fell back, withdrawing to the Dniestr on the Romanian border near Iaşi.

In the first week of April, "Totenkopf" gained a moments respite as it rested in the area near Târgul-Frumos in Romania. The division received replacements and new equipment, Meierdress' abt receiving a component of Panthers to replace some of the outdated PzKpfw IVs. In the second week of April, heavy soviet attacks towards Targul Frumos meant that "Totenkopf" was back in action, playing a role in the decisive defensive victory. Meierdress' panzers were the main force employed by the "Totenkopf" in efforts to halt the soviet spearheads. By 7 May, the front had quietened and the "Totenkopf" went back to the business of reorganising. Meierdress abt was again brought up to strength. In early July, the division was ordered to the area near Grodno in Poland, where it would form a part of SS-Obergruppenführer Gille's IV.SS-Panzerkorps, covering the approaches to Warsaw near Modlin.

Battles around Warsaw - Operation Konrad I

The "Totenkopf" arrived at the Warsaw front in late July 1944. After the launch of Operation Bagration and the collapse of Army Group Centre, the central-Eastern front was a mess, and the IV.SS-Panzerkorps was one of the only formations standing in the way of the Soviet attacks. On 1 August 1944, the Armia Krajowa, rose up in Warsaw itself, sparking the Warsaw Uprising. A column of "Totenkopf" Tigers was caught up in the fighting, and several were lost. The "Totenkopf" was not involved in the suppression of the revolt, instead guarding the front lines, and fighting off several Soviet probing attacks into the city's eastern suburbs. Meierdress' panzers played a major role in these defensive victories.

In several furious battles near the town of Modlin in mid August, the "Totenkopf", fighting alongside the 5.SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking" and the Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring" virtually annihilated the Soviet 3rd Corps. Meierdress' abt, now totally equipped with Panthers, fought in this battle, inflicting severe losses on the Soviets and Communist Polish forces. The terrain around Modlin is excellent armour terrain, and Meierdress exploited this to his advantage, engaging Soviet tanks from far range where the superiority of the German optics and the 75mm high-velocity guns gave his Panthers an edge against the T-34s.

The efforts of the "Totenkopf", "Wiking" and "Hermann Göring" allowed Germans to hold the Vistula line and establish Army Group Vistula. In December 1944, the IX.SS-Gebirgskorps was encircled in Budapest. Hitler ordered the IV.SS-Panzerkorps to head south to break through to the 45,000 Germans and Hungarians trapped in the city. The corps arrived late December, and was immediately thrown into action.

The relief attempt, codenamed Operation Konrad I, was a joint attack by the "Wiking" and "Totenkopf" from the town of Táta attacking along the line Bicske-Budapest. Meierdress' abt was to form one of the "Totenkopf's" spearheads.

The operation got underway on 1 January, and the unexpected attack resulted in large gains for the Germans. Meierdress' unit fought their way towards the city, destroying many Soviet tanks. Despite this initial success, the Soviets reacted quickly, and on 3 January defence had solidified near the town of Biscke. On 4 January, Meierdress' unit was subject to a ferocious enemy counterattack by a large Soviet armoured force. Meierdress' Panther, after knocking out several T-34/85s, was hit, and exploded. While his loader and driver escaped with serious wounds, Meierdress and his gunner were killed in the explosion. Despite two subsequent offensives, the garrison at Budapest was never reached and the survivors surrendered on 12 February 1945.

References - External links

* [http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de Knight's Cross Holders Database (German language)]
* [http://www.axishistory.com Axis History Factbook]
* [http://www.feldgrau.com Feldgrau - The History of the German Armed Forces in WWII]
* [http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/ Axis Biographical Research]